The first independent elections into the local parliament were
held in February and March 1990. Mircea Snegur was elected as Speaker of
the Parliament, and Mircea Druc as Prime-Minister. On June 23,
1990, the Parliament adopted the Declaration of Sovereignty of the
Soviet Socialist Republic Moldova, which among other things
stipulated the supremacy of Moldovan laws over those of the Soviet
Union. On May 23, 1991, the name of the state is again changed into
the current Republic of Moldova.[1]

After the failure of the 1991 Soviet coup d'état
attempt, on August 27, 1991, Moldova declared its independence,
which was recognized the same day by Romania, and afterwards by numerous other
countries. In early December of that year, a former communist
reformer, Mircea
Snegur, won an unchallenged election for the presidency. On
December 21 of the same year Moldova, along with most of the former
Soviet republics, signed the constitutive act that formed the
post-Soviet Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS). Declaring itself a neutral state, it did not join the military
branch of the CIS. Three months later, on March 2, 1992, the
country achieved formal recognition as an independent state at the
United
Nations.

Mircea Snegur
was elected president of Moldova in October 1990 by the Parliament. A
former Communist Party official, he
endorsed independence and actively sought Western recognition.
Moldova declared its independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991. However,
Snegur's opposition to immediate reunification with Romania led to a split with the
Moldovan Popular Front in October 1991 and
to his decision to run as an independent candidate in a December
1991 presidential election. Running unopposed, he won after the
Popular Front's efforts to organize a voter boycott failed.

Transnistrian conflict

In the region east of the Dniester river, Transnistria, which includes a large
proportion of Russophone ethnic Russians and Ukrainians (as of 1989, 51%, as opposed to
only 40% ethnic Moldovans), and where the headquarters and
many units of the Soviet Guards 14th Army were stationed, an
independent "Transdnestrian Moldovan Republic" (TMR) was proclaimed
on August 16, 1990, with its capital in Tiraspol.[1]
The motives behind this move were fear of the rise of nationalism
in Moldova and the country's expected reunification with Romania upon secession from the
USSR.

In the winter of 1991-1992 clashes occurred between
Transnistrian forces, supported by elements
of the 14th Army, and the Moldovan police. Between March 2 and
July 26, 1992, the conflict escalated into a military
engagement. Negotiations held during the conflict between
Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Moldova did not produce any practical
results. After a series of direct negotiations facilitated by
Russia, an agreement was reached between Moldova and
Transnistria.

Russian military stationed in the region (14th Army) were
removed from the main part of Moldova by January 1993, but remain
to this day east of the Dniester in the breakaway region, despite
signing international obligations to withdraw, and against the will
of Moldovan government.[4][5] One
such obligation was undertaken at the 1999 OSCE summit in Istanbul to withdraw the
Russian troops and ammunition within 3 years, a promise reiterated
at the next summit in Porto in
2003. After 1992, Romania and Ukraine were excluded from the
diplomatic activity aimed to solve the Transnistrian crisis. Later,
OSCE was
included, and the Ukraine wes re-included. The postwar status
quo remains to this day: Chişinău offers a large autonomy,
while Tiraspol demands independence. De jure, Transnistria is internationally
recognized as part of Moldova, but de facto, the authorities in Chişinău do
not exercise any control over that territory.[1]

Transition to market
economy

On January 2, 1992, Moldova introduced the market reforms, of
which included price liberalization. This resulted in a 2,600% inflation in 1992, and a
further 700% inflation in 1993. From 1992 till 2001, the young
country suffered its worst economic crisis that left most of the
population below the poverty line. In 1993, a new national
currency, the Moldovan
leu was introduced to replace the Soviet ruble. The end of the planned economy
meant also that the industrial enterprises would have to buy
supplies and sell their goods by themselves, and most of the
management was not prepared for such a change. Moldova undertook a
privatisation plan which was effective in the transfer of the
ownership of houses to the people. The attempted privatization of
production means did not boost the economy as it was desired.
International financial institutions, judging the apparent presence
of landmarks indicating a modern developed society in 1992, have
overestimated the capacity of Moldova's economy and government to
withstand the transition to market economy, and imposed the country
to open its market to outside goods without implementation of any
effective action to support internal production. As a result,
Moldova's industry, especially machine building, became all but
defunct, and unemployment skyrocketed. The economic
fortunes of Moldova began to change in 2001; since then the country
has seen a steady annual growth of between 5% and 10%. Early 2000s
also saw a considerable growth of emigration of Moldovans looking
for work (mostly illegally) in Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and other countries, in addition to work
in Russia. One of the reasons
for this was that in 1991, 1.3 million Moldovans, or ca. 60% of the
workforce, were employed in agriculture, which normally does not
require such a large number of people. Remittances from Moldovans abroad account
for ca. 30% of Moldova's GDP, the largest percentage in Europe.
Officially, Moldova's annual GDP is of the order of $1,000 per
capita, however a significant part of the economy goes unregistered
due to corruption.

Political developments in
1990s

Moldova's transition to democracy was initially impeded by an
ineffective Parliament, the lack of a new constitution, a separatist movement led by
the Gagauz (Christian Turkic)
minority in the south, and unrest in the Transnistria region on the
left bank of the Dniester
river, where a separatist movement assisted by uniformed Russian
military forces in the region and led by supporters of the 1991
coup attempt in Moscow
declared a "Dniester republic."

Progress has been made on all these fronts. In 1992, the
government negotiated a cease-fire arrangement with Russian and Transnistrian
officials (although tensions continue) and negotiations are
ongoing. In February 1994, new legislative elections were held, and
the ineffective Parliament that had been elected in 1990 to a
5-year term was replaced. A new constitution was adopted in July
1994. The conflict with the Gagauz minority was defused by the
granting of local autonomy in 1994.

The governments of Mircea Druc (May 25, 1990 - May 28, 1991),
and of Valeriu Muravschi (May 28, 1991 -
July 1, 1992) were followed by a more moderate/concervative
(pending on one's political interpretation) government of Andrei
Sangheli, which saw the removal of most reform-oriented
individuals. In the February 1994
elections, only 4 of the dozens of political parties surpassed the
4% threshold.[1]
A new government was formed by Andrei Sangheli of the Democratic Agrarian Party.

The February 1994 Parliamentary elections were conducted
peacefully and received good ratings from international observers
for their fairness. Prime Minister Andrei Sangheli was re-elected
to his post in March 1994, as was Petru Lucinschi to his post as speaker
of the Parliament. Authorities in Transnistria, refused to allow
balloting there and discouraged the local population from
participating. Inhabitants of the Gagauz separatist region did
participate in the elections, however.

Following the elections, the Parliament ratified the CIS accession
treaty, modified the national anthem from Deşteaptă-te,
române to Limba noastră, adopted a new
Constitution that called the official language Moldova as
opposed to Romanian (as it was called in
1991-93), and adopted other measures that distanced Moldova from Romania.[1]
The new Moldovan Constitution also provided for autonomy for Transnistria and Gagauzia. On December 23,
1994, the Parliament of Moldova adopted a "Law on the Special Legal
Status of Gagauzia", and in 1995
it was constituted.

In the presidential elections of 1996, parliamentary speaker
Petru Lucinschi surprised with an upset victory over the incumbent,
Mircea Snegur,
in a second round of balloting. The elections were judged as free
and fair by international observers. After winning the presidential
elections of 1996, on January 15, 1997, Petru Lucinschi, the former First
Secretary of the Moldavian
Communist Party in 1989-91 became the country's second
president.

President Lucinschi did manage to institute some very
controversial reforms (perhaps the United States Assistance for
International Development-funded "Pămînt" land privatization
program was the most controversial). Indeed, his tenure was marked
by constant legislative struggles with Moldova's Parliament.
Several times, the Parliament considered votes of no confidence in
the president's government, and a succession of moderate,
pro-Western reform prime ministers were dismissed by a Parliament
that increasingly favored the growing Communist Party faction.

Alliance for Democracy and
Reforms

Moldova’s previous two presidents, Mircea Snegur and Petru
Lucinschi were respectively President of the Republican Supreme
Soviet and Republican Communist Party First Secretary during the
Soviet Period. Both served as Politburo members, and Luchinschi was
a member of the CC of CPSU.

The 1998 economic crisis in Russia, Moldova's main economic
partner at the time, produced an economic crisis in the country.
Privatization was stalled, the Moldovan leu lost 60% with respect
to the US dollar within a year (August 1998-July 1999), an energy
crisis swept through the country, wages and pensions were paid with
a considerable delay of several months, corruption extended. The
level of life plunged, with 75% of population living below the
poverty line, while the economic disaster caused 600,000 people to
leave the country. This eventually resulted in the interruption of
relations with the International Monetary
Fund.[1]

In economic terms, the 1998 crisis provoked an emigration of
labor, as well as permanent emigration from Moldova. According to
the census data, from 1989 to 2004, Moldova has lost about 400,000
inhabitants, or 9% of the population. Analysts estimate that actual
emigration could be higher, as many seasonal workers remain
registered as living in the country.

New governments were formed by Ion Sturza (February 19 - November 9, 1999)
and Dumitru
Braghiş (December 21, 1999 - April 19, 2001).

On July 21, 2000, the
Parliament adopted an amendment to the Constitution that
transformed Moldova from a presidential to a parliamentary
republic, in which the president is elected by 3/5 of the votes in
the parliament, and no longer directly by popular vote. Later that
year, when Parliament failed three times to successfully elect a
new president, Petru Lucinschi exercised his right to
dissolve Parliament, calling for new parliamentary elections.
However, since no single candidate was able to garner a majority of
votes, Lucinschi temporarily remained president.

Return of the Communist
Party

Widespread popular dissatisfaction with the government, the
economy, and the reforms, however, led to a surprise at the polls
in February 2001. In elections certified by international observers
as free and fair, Moldova's populace voted overwhelmingly for the
communists. The communist
faction, which had previously occupied 40 of the Parliament's
101 seats since they were legally allowed to exist in 1998, jumped
to 71 - a clear majority. Communist deputies were then able to
elect Vladimir
Voronin, the leader of their faction, as President. Voronin,
previously served as an official of the Moldovan Communist Party
Central Committee, as well as First Secretary of the Bender City
Party Committee and Minister of Internal Affairs.

Only 3 of the 31 political parties passed the 6% threshold of
the February 25, 2001 elections. Winning 49.9% of the vote, the Party of
Communists of the Republic of Moldova gained 71 of the 101 MPs,
and on April 4, 2001, elected Vladimir Voronin as the country's
third president. A new government was formed on April 19, 2001 by
Vasile Tarlev.
The country became the first post-Soviet state where a non-reformed
Communist Party comes back to power.[1]

Since his election, President Voronin has proceeded with
Lucinschi's plans to privatize several important state-owned
industries, and even has on occasion broken with his own party over
important issues. He also also repeatedly announced plans to
introduce measures to promote land consolidation in the
countryside, a move outside observers have dubbed
"recollectivizaiton." However, under President Voronin, relations
with Romania have, at times, worsened. Tensions arose when the
President tried to introduce Russian as a second national language
as well as insist that the Moldovan state language be called
Moldovan. The Romanian language in Moldova has come to be called
"Moldovan", propting a long controversy whether the language is
identical or closely resembles Romanian. In 2007 the Moldovan
government did not allow Romania to open two consulates in major
cities of Moldova, Bălţi and Cahul, that were intended to simplify the
acquisition of Romanian visas for the Moldovan population..

In March-April 2002, in
Chişinău, several mass protests took place against the plans of the
government to fulfil its electoral promise and introduce Russian as
the second state language along with its compulsory study in
schools.[1]
The government mainly renounced these plans, but Russian was
eventually re-introduced as a compulsory subject in Moldovan
schools, albeit only 1 to 2 hours per week.

An attempt at re-introduction of Russian into Moldovan schools
caused protests in the center of Chisinău, led by the nationalist
CDPP
party, and was aborted as the movement lost momentum. The Communist
party has also attracted much criticism over the increasingly
authoritarian rule in Chişinău.

Relationship between Moldova and Russia deteriorated in November 2003 over a Russian proposal for the solution of
the Transnistrian conflict, which Moldovan authorities refused to
accept due to political pressure from the West, since it stipulated
a 20-year Russian military presence in Moldova. The federalization
of Moldova would have also turned Transnistria and Gagauzia into a
blocking minority over all major
policy matters of Moldova.

As of 2006, approximately 1,200 of the 14th army personnel
remain stationed in Transnistria. In the last years, negotiations
between the Transnistrian and Moldovan leaders have been going on
under the mediation of the OSCE, Russia, and Ukraine; lately observers
from the European
Union and the United States have become involved as
observers, creating a 5+2 format.

In the wake of the November 2003 deadlock with Russia, a series
of shifts in the external policy of Moldova occurred, targeted at
rapprochement with the European Union. In the context of the
EU's expansion to the east, Moldova wants to sign a Stability an
Association Agreement, and demands an Individual Action Plan to
accede to the EU. A national commission for European integration
was created in June 2003, and in November 2003 all three political
parties present in the parliament adopted a common declaration
stating a pro-European orientation of Moldova.[1]
Since 1999, Moldova has affirmed its desire to join the European
Union,[6][7] and
implement its first three-year Action Plan within the framework of
the European
Neighborhood Policy (ENP) of the EU.[8][9]
Analysts claim that, in fact, Moldova did not manage to fully
implement the Action Plan and instead of positive ideas it was
constantly sending to Brussels contradictory signals about its
commitment to implement reforms.[10]

On December 19, 2003, the Parliament passed a Law of
Nationalities, which made a controversial distinction between a
Moldovan majority and a Romanian minority (a historically,
ethnically, and linguistically contentious distinction).[1]
In the 2004 population census, first
since independence, of the 2,638,125 Moldovans and Romanians (78.3% of the country's
population), 2,564,850 (97.2%) were registered as Moldovans and
73,276 (2.8%) as Romanians (94.9%, resp. 5.1% in urban areas, and
98.4%, resp. 1.6% in rural areas). 2,012,542 or 76.3% of them
called native language Moldovan (58.9% in urban areas and
84.8% in rural ones), and 552,920 or 21.0% of them called it Romanian
(34.3% in urban areas and 14.4% in rural ones).

In the March, 6, 2005
elections, the Communist Party won 46% of the vote, (56 of the 101
seats in the Parliament), Democratic Moldova Block won 28.5% of the
vote (34 MPs), and the Christian
Democratic People Party (CDPP) won 9.1% (11 MPs). On April 4,
2005, Vladimir
Voronin was re-elected as country's president, supported by a
part of the opposition, and on April 8, Vasile Tarlev was again
charged as head of government.[1]
Several major shifts produced in the political scene of Moldova
since 2005. At first most of the opposition supported Vladimir
Voronin, who was regarded as changed from being pro-Russian to
being pro-Western, but this was changed largely after Voronin
launched a sustained verbal campaign (in press, in official
declarations, and at European fora) against Romanians and Romania, whom he blames for
stealing Moldova's citizens (ca. 100,000 Moldovans have also
Romanian citizenship, and other 800,000 are waiting in line).

On November 18, 2008, NATO Parliamentary Assembly adopted
Resolution 371 on the future of NATO-Russia relations, with among
other things, "urges the government and the parliament of Russia to
respect its commitments which were taken at the Istanbul OSCE
Summit in 1999 and has to withdraw its illegal military presence
from the Transdnestrian region of Moldova in the nearest
future."[12]

The fear and insecurity grew even stronger in Moldova after Valeriu Boboc, Ion Ţâbuleac, and Eugen Ţapu have been sent dead to their
families. All of them showed signs of brutal violence on their face
and body. Although the families asked for answers, they didn't
receive any. They don't know who, where, when and why killed the
young boys.

Issues

Criticism

There is disagreement as to whether elections and politics in
Moldova are carried out in a free and democratic climate on the
part of certain organizations. The United States Senate has held
committee hearings on irregularities that marred elections in
Moldova, including arrests and harassment of opposition candidates,
intimidation and suppression of independent media, and state run
media bias in favor of candidates backed by the Communist-led
Moldovan Government.[15] Other
critics have also referred to the Communist Party government as
being authoritarian.[16][17]
Nevertheless, George W. Bush stated that: "We note and
welcome Moldova's positive record since independence in conducting
free and fair elections and in implementing democratic
reforms."[18]

There have also been reports of politically motivated arrests
and arrests without valid legal grounds. Such arrests are allegedly
carried out against opponents of the Communist Party government of
President Vladimir Voronin. In one case which was criticized by
various Western organizations and individuals, opposition
politician Valeriu Pasat was sentenced to ten years imprisonment on
dubious grounds.[19]

In recent months, the leadership of the autonomous region of
Gagauzia has become more vocal in its complaints that the Moldovan
Government does not respect the region's statutory-enshrined
autonomy.

Human
Trafficking

Due to the high rate of poverty, Moldova remains a large
source-country of illegal sex workers that are exported to Western
Europe and the Middle East. Because of pervasive corruption and a
general lack of awareness, many victims of human
trafficking are lured into the business with offers of
high-salary jobs abroad, and are often trapped once out of the
country. The U.S government urged Moldova to pass an
anti-trafficking law in 2005, but due to a lack of enforcement, low
regard of legal institutions, and unequal benchmark requirements,
clear progress is difficult to ascertain. Organizations such as the
International
Organization for Migration[1] provide
non-governmental support integral to helping victims. However, NGOs
are often subject to domestic constraints and government
interference in their work, complicating their operations.

Transnistria

The population of the Moldovan region of Transnistria is approximately 32%
Moldovan, 31% Ukrainian, and 29% Russian. After failing to
establish control over the breakaway region in the War of
Transnistria, Moldova offered a rather broad cultural and
political autonomy to the region. The dispute has strained
Moldova's relations with Russia. The July 1992 cease-fire agreement
established a tripartite peacekeeping force composed of Moldovan,
Russian, and Transnistrian units. Negotiations to resolve the
conflict continue, and the cease-fire is still in effect. The OSCE is also trying to facilitate a
negotiated settlement and has had an observer mission in place for
several years.

Some progress by Russia in
early 2000s in destroying the weapons and munitions of the
Organized Group of Russian Forces stationed in Transnistria have
raised hopes that Russia intends to comply with the 1999 Istanbul
Accords.

The country remains divided, with the Transnistrian region along
the Ukrainian border
controlled by separatist forces. The new communist government has
shown increased determination to resolve the ongoing conflict, but
has been unable to make any significant progress because of
fundamental disagreements with the separatist authorities in
Transnistria over the status of that region, as well as complex
international political pressure exerted by the US, the OSCE, the
EU and especially Russia.

General
situation

Moldova had successfully joined the World Trade Organization and
the Southeast European Stability Pact in 2001. Of primary
importance have been the government's efforts to improve relations
with the International Monetary Fund
and the World Bank and
to comply with agreements negotiated in 2000 by the former
government. Agreement in these areas was critical, because large
government debts that were due in 2002 had to be rescheduled. The
government has made concerted efforts to find ways to pay for
Moldova's energy supplies.

Politically the government is committed to present a budget that
will deal with social safety net items such as health, education,
and increasing pensions and salaries. The Moldovan Government
supported democracy and human rights in FY 2001.

Political parties and other groups publish newspapers, which
often criticize government policies. There are several independent
news services, radio stations, and an independent television
station. Peaceful assembly is allowed, though permits for
demonstrations must be obtained; private organizations, including
political parties, are required to register with the government.
Legislation passed in 1992 codified freedom of religion but
required that religious groups be recognized by the government.

A 1990 Soviet law and a 1991 Parliamentary decision authorizing
formation of social organizations provide for independent trade
unions. However, the Federation
of Independent Trade Unions of Moldova, successor to the former
organizations of the Soviet trade union system, is the sole
structure. It has tried to influence government policy in labor
issues and has been critical of many economic policies. Moldovan
labor law, which is based on former Soviet legislation, provides
for collective bargaining rights.

The president is elected by the Parliament for a four-year term.
According to the Moldovan constitution, the president, on
consulting with the parliament, will designate a candidate for the
office of prime minister; within 15 days from designation, the
prime minister-designate will request a vote of confidence from the
parliament regarding his/her work program and entire cabinet. The
cabinet is selected by prime minister-designate, subject to
approval of parliament.